World Lit Spring 2025 Exam

Aesir

A race or tribe or branch of the gods. They live in Asgard.

Alfheim

One of the nine worlds, inhabited by the light elves.

Asgard

Home of the Aesir. The realm of the gods.

Ask

The first man, made from an ash tree.

Balder

Known as 'the beautiful.' Odin's second son, loved by all but Loki.

Bestla

Mother of Odin, Vili, and Ve, and wife of Bor. Daughter of a giant called Bolthorn. Sister of Mimir.

Bifrost

The rainbow bridge that joins Asgard to Midgard.

Bor

A god. Buri's son, married to Bestla. Father of Odin, Vili, and Ve.

Buri

The ancestor of the gods, father to Bor, grandfather of Odin.

Einherjar

The noble dead who died bravely in battle, and who now feast and battle in Valhalla.

Embla

The first woman, made from an elm tree.

Fenrir or Fenris Wolf

A wolf. Loki's son with Angrboda.

Fimbulwinter

The winter before Ragnarok, which does not end.

Frey

A god of the Vanir, who lives with the Aesir. Freya's brother.

Freya

A goddess of the Vanir, who lives with the Aesir. Frey's sister.

Frigg

Odin's wife, the queen of the gods. Mother of Balder.

Garm

A monstrous hound, who kills and is killed by Tyr at Ragnarok.

Ginnungagap

A yawning gap between Muspell (the fire world) and Niflheim (the mist world) at the beginning of creation.

Gjallerhorn

Heimdall's horn, kept by Mimir's well.

Heimdall

The watchman of the gods, far-seeing.

Hel

Loki's daughter with Angrboda. She rules Hel, the realm of the shameful dead, who did not die nobly in battle.

Huginn

One of Odin's two ravens. Its name means 'thought.'

Idavoll

The 'splendid plain,' on which Asgard was built, and to which the surviving gods will return after Ragnarok.

Jord

Thor's mother, a giantess, who was also a goddess of the earth.

Jormungundr

The Midgard serpent. One of Loki's children and Thor's nemesis.

Jotunheim

Jotun means giant, and Jotunheim is the realm of the giants.

Loki

Odin's blood brother, the son of Farbauti and of Laufey. The shrewdest, most cunning of all the inhabitants of Asgard.

Midgard

'Middle yard.' Our world. The realm of humans.

Mimir

Odin's uncle and keeper of the spring of wisdom in Jotunheim. A giant, perhaps also one of the Aesir.

Mjollnir

Thor's remarkable hammer and most prized possession, made for him by Eitri.

Muninn

One of Odin's ravens. Its name means 'memory.'

Muspell

The fiery world that exists at the beginning of creation. One of the nine worlds.

Nidavellir, also called Svartalfheim

Where the dwarfs (also known as dark elves) live beneath the mountains.

Nidhogg

A dragon who devours corpses and chews on the roots of Yggdrasil.

Niflheim

A cold, misty place, there at the start of everything.

Norns

The three sisters, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who tend the well of Urd, or fate.

Odin

The highest and oldest of the gods. He wears a cloak and a hat and only has one eye, having traded the other for wisdom.

Sif

Thor's wife. She had golden hair.

Skuld

One of the norns. Her name means 'that which is intended,' and her domain is the future.

Sleipnir

Odin's horse. The fastest of horses, eight-legged, the offspring of Loki and Svadilfari.

Thor

Odin's red-bearded son, Aesir god of thunder. The strongest of the gods.

Tyr

The one-handed god of war, a son of Odin; the stepson of Hymir the giant.

Urd

'Fate.' One of the three norns. She determines our past.

Urd's well

The well in Asgard tended by the norns.

Valhalla

Odin's hall, where the noble dead who die bravely in battle feast.

Valkyries

"Choosers of the slain." Odin's handmaidens, who collect the souls of the dead who die bravely on the battlefield and bring them to Valhalla.

Vanaheim

The realm of the Vanir.

Ve

Odin's brother, a son of Bor and Bestla.

Verdandi

One of the norns. Her name means "becoming," and she determines our present.

Vigrid

The plain where the great battle of Ragnarok will take place.

Vili

Odin's brother, a son of Bor and Bestla.

Yggdrasil

The world-tree.

Ymir

The first being, a giant bigger than worlds, the ancestor of all giants. Ymir was nourished by the first cow, Audhumla.

Nidhogg

The dragon that chews on the roots of the world tree.

Aesir

The warlike gods.

Buri

Ancestor of the gods.

Fenrir

Great wolf who kills Odin.

Jotuns

Great enemy of the gods.

Frigg

Wife of the chief god.

Mimir

Wise uncle of the Aesir chief god.

Jord

Mother of the god of thunder.

Midgard

Norse word for 'earth'.

Loki

Trickster god.

Thor

God of thunder and his wife is Sif.

Tyr

One-handed god of war.

Jotunheim

Home of the giants.

Alfheim

Home of the light elves.

Asgard

Home of the Aesir gods.

Ask and Embla

First man and woman.

Svartalfheim

Home of the dwarves (dark elves).

Niflheim

Cold, dark and existed at the beginning of time.

Muspell

Fiery, hot and existed at the beginning of time.

Norns

The fates and their names and their well: Urd (fate), Verdandi (becoming), Skuld (that which is intended).

Vanaheim

Home of the Vanir, peaceful gods.

Odin, Vili, Ve

Three children of Bor and Bestla.

Ymir and Audhumla

First giant and great cow.

Ginnungagap

The yawning gap.

Sleipnir, Jormungundr, Hel, Fenrir

Name the monstrous children of Loki.

Heimdall

Watchman of the gods and the horn that signals Ragnarok.

Huginn and Muninn

Odin's two ravens (thought and memory).

Mjollnir

Name of Thor's hammer.

Bifrost

Name of the rainbow bridge.

Balder

Death of this peaceful god signifies Ragnarok.

Einherjar

Name of the honorable dead who wait in what hall for Ragnarok: Valhalla.

Idavoll

'Splendid plain' on which all things will be rebuilt upon after Ragnarok.

Fimbulwinter

Never ending winter that precedes Ragnarok.

Erich Maria Remarque

Author of All Quiet on the Western Front.

German

Nationality of Erich Maria Remarque.

1929

Year when All Quiet on the Western Front was first published.

World War I

War during which All Quiet on the Western Front is set.

Paul Bäumer

Main character who fights for the German Army.

Boots

Symbolize the cheapness of life in war—survival and death are impersonal, and practical needs like footwear outlast the people who wear them.

Kemmerich's death

Significant as it marks the soldiers' desensitization to death and the brutal reality of war.

Theme of All Quiet on the Western Front

Conveys that war is dehumanizing, traumatic, and ultimately senseless, especially for the common soldier.

Soldiers' hardships

Fear, hunger, filth, poor medical care, shell shock, loss of comrades, and the psychological toll of constant violence.

Tone of All Quiet on the Western Front

Bleak, reflective, somber, and brutally honest.

First person writing

Immerses the reader in Paul's personal thoughts and emotions, making the horrors of war more immediate and intimate.

Nihilism

The realization that there is no objective meaning.

Existentialism

It is possible to create our own meaning through the choices we make in our lives.

Absurdism

We shouldn't seek to create our own meaning but we should stare into the face of the Absurd and rebel against this meaninglessness.